Columbia University College of Pharmacy - Apothekan Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Mr. ll ' v e Beginning with the alkancs and finishing with the Heterocyclic compounds. Dr. and Mrs. DiSomma, with the application of patience, re-exams and main extra stud) sessions, managed to teach us that benzene had other uses than remov- ing yesterday ' s soup from your vest. In the lab we were taught the synthesis ol many known compounds. But we were Juniors and inspiration burned deep within us (hadn ' t the Chinese invented Chow Mein?) — so we would not rest until we had found the synthesis of the Ersatz Bagle. It was during one of these feverish experiments that Joe Leibenhaut found Horace ' s labcoat in his distilling flask. Things were progressing in an acceptable fashion up until the final exam, when Sol Libb defined Polv Saccharide as a swell date from the Bronx and Mike Friedland. not to be outdone, wrote that Mother Liquor was a hostess in a Harlem hotspot. Dr. DiSomma would have no more of us. In going on to Pharmaceutical Analysis, Prof. Taub, who had watched our antics with bated breath for the past three years, applied the old axiom that discretion was the better part of valor. He imme- diately sent us on to Abe Silbergleit. Burning with ambition (and die summer heat) Mr. Silbergleit declared a new regime. You no longer could run your analysis by the old and tried formula Normality Gaystu ( mean) t x- X Fupstoo, extreme = (Krutt) : Prof. S. Libcrman, Prof. A. Taub. Mr. A. Silbergleit So we dusted off our calibrated weights (0.00000OUCHO) and got to work. Determination after determination was handed us, and as fast as they came we ran them off. Finally when Abe was tired of marking papers, and had finished all his salt tablets, he sent out a hurried S.O.S. to Prof. Taub. He must have been leading Oliver Twist for the next day we found little paper bags filled with Quaker Oats on our desks. It was our job to see if they came up to the standard of the grocer ' s U.S. P. (the Good House- keeping Seal of Approval) . This was a fitting end to our studv in Practical Chemistry. Much has been said in jest and much has been said in earn- est; but to you of the Chemistry Dept. who have instructed us these many years we say, thanks for your excellent training. We honestly can find no other fault except that the labs were built on the sixth floor. Abraham Taub. Pb.G.. Pb.Cb.. B.S.. M.A. Associate Professor

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a ewiLS tr ¥ Andrew W. Thomas. A.M., Ph.D. Chairman Dr. and Mrs. A. DiSomma Chemistry has been defined, by no less a person than Noah Q. Webster, as a science which deals with the properties of elemental) and compound substances. Since we were elementary to begin with, it was up to Mr. Anzelmi to teach the compound portion of the course. Under his patient and able tutelage we were rid of such unscientific ideas, to wit, that Grahams are crackers eaten in bed or that Boyle ' s law postulated on what portion of the neck they were allowed to grow. During the lab sessions Mr. Anzelmi, assisted by Saul A. Bell, did their best to demonstrate the accepted methods of running chemical experiments and the proper manner of handling apparatus. We vainly strove to acquire this technique and, at the same time, achieve the highest possible grades on our report sheets. The problem which gave us the most trouble was in balancing the equa- tion of breakage. (SI 5 — charge for broken equipment-j-allowance on mended glassware=S15 return) . Armed with the essential factors of chemistry we moved into our Sophomore year to storm the bastions (ed. note, correct spelling) of Qualitative and Quanti- tative Chemistry, commanded by that bombastic blackboard strategist. Prof. Sam Liberman. Into our mind were precipitated the intricacies of the balance and the burette, the method of calibrating weights and the approved (American Journal of Science) method of cleaning glassware. Time and again we were warned against infiltration into our unknown. From his dais overlooking the lab, Prof. Liberman stressed that the best way of beating the unknown was to keep it within the confines of the test tube and not allow it to break through and fan out over the desk. To Mr. Wyle, was given the job of laboratory supervision; all went well until he discovered an errant student running a determination on Rocklorte Cheese, using Mrs. Pennyfeather ' s cookbook as his guide. Needless to say the lab genius received an A on this determination. In the realm of theory, it had been Prof. Liberman ' s contention that if we would only think we would realize that the dispersed system was not a variation (if the Notre Dame shift. To prove his theory, we were given open book tests, i.e. legitimate ones, which we of course flunked. It was more than the good Professor could stand, so he passed the buck to Dr. DiSomma for further psychoanalysis and chemical training. Gone was the use of log tables and slide rules; in their place came benzedrine and caffeine. During the year Vic Sakal synthesized enough to supply the entire class for an all night prc-exam session. Mr. E. Anzelmi

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PL armac t Curl P. Wimmer, Ph.G Phar.D.. A.M., Ph.M. Chairman Moses with one touch of his wand made water issue forth from a rock. Prof. Wimmer with the turn of a page of his notebook (which was as ancient as the subject) spewed forth the subject of Pharmacy Orientation. It was a fitting introduction to a time-honored profession. We were carried back some few thousand years on the magic carpet of history. We were the sorcerer ' s appren- tices being made conscious of the vast tradition behind us. Yes, we dreamed of the Pyramids and the Rosetta Stone and even pictured ourselves discovering the secret of turning base metals into gold, only to be rudely awakened the following hour by Prof. Amsterdam. Sir Boss taught Pharmaceutical Arithmetic. It was his joy to point out that we were all potential murderers for placing the decimal point in the wrong place when calculating the dose of strychnine or some equally potent medicine. We had hour quizzes, wherein we were given ten problems (which were masterpieces of phraseology) and told to solve them by the Amsterdam method. All right, wise guys, see if you can figure these problems out. We were to see more of Prof. Amsterdam. That tall dark gentleman, who wore clothes with neat dispatch and hair a la Kreml, was Prof. Carter, our instructor in Pharmacy. He finally managed to teach us how to make Emplastrum Plumbi Oleatis. but we learned for ourselves how to make triple quantity preparations. After enlightening us on the ways of making U.S. P. and N.F. formulas, it was Prof. C. P. Wimmer Dr. L. N. Brown Mr. I. P. Miale if y w ' i ' i l -■ Stotfirt ' '